Springboks annihilate the Azzurri in Gqeberha

TimesLIVE

12-07-2025

This was an at times chaotic, breathtaking, error strewn but always engaging junk yard junket.
At the end the Springboks raised their arms in Gqeberha after emphatically beating Italy 45-0 to secure a 2-0 Test series victory but they will have much to pore over as they fine tune their team and battle plans before the Rugby Championship.
They face Georgia in Mbombela next weekend but not before sifting through some of the rubble of this match, and to be fair there is much to salvage.
We were robbed of the opportunity to see what this much changed Springbok combination was really capable of when No8 Jasper Wiese was red carded a quarter into the game. The yellow card to Wilco Louw in the 45th minute brought further complication, if not a little angst and rearranging.
What the loss of personnel did achieve, however, was to galvanise the Springbok forwards while the team in general took to their adjusted task with alacrity.
D-rex gets the home crowd off their seats 😏🇿🇦
Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉
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Their performance was at times scrappy, perhaps no more glaringly than in the line-out in the second half, but the Boks showed resolve and character by the bucket load.
Sure, being a man down did not give the hosts the opportunity to maximise their attacking prowess but their pack was so dominant that they still had enough ball to dictate the course of the match.
Their scrum was full of menace which was the foundation upon which they set themselves apart in the first half. Three of their first half tries were built on the thrust of the collective shove.
The Springboks were confident they would have the upper hand in the scrum. In fact, they sought a scrum from the outset when they deliberately botched the kick-off. They did not draw immediate reward but they certainly signalled their intentions.
Soon after, however, the Boks drew the first penalty and it came in an area win which they failed to assert their dominance last weekend. The Azzurri were combative at the breakdown at Loftus Versfeld which served to knock the Springboks out of their attacking stride.
The visitors were denuded that luxury in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Marco van Staden and Marx brought the Boks muscle and clarity in that area.
Manie ➕ Willie 🪄🪄
From one side of the field to the other with two passes 🎯🎯
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Ox Nche was a real force when he stepped off the bench after half an hour for Thomas du Toit, scrumhalf Grant Williams was a live wire, centre Canan Moodie played with unrestrained enthusiasm, perhaps evidence best through his first half try, while right wing Van der Merwe was full of buoyancy.
Like Nche, Jan-Hendrik Wessels brought energy and urgency to the loose once he made it onto the field and it helped stretch the winning margin towards the end.
The golden touch that helped centurion Willie le Roux to that landmark deserted him on the big occasion. His body of work though remains unchallenged.
The big talking point of the match however will be the red card to Wiese.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus looked incredulous when referee Andrew Brace produced the red card but his No8 did nudge his head forward into the face of Italian loose head Danilo Fischetti.
Wiese's headbutt might not measure up to standards in drinking holes of Brakpan, Glasgow or Belfast but it did meet the threshold for permanent banishment.
It meant the Boks had to face three quarters of the match with a man down.
Wiese's first half banishment robbed him the opportunity to share the field with his brother Cobus, who made it onto the field in the second half on debut.
In the end the Boks got the job done with much to spare. They however are the back-to-back Rugby World Cup holders and will be far from content with this performance. They have restless energy and will seek improvement in the coming weeks. There may be more tinkering and tweaking in selection for next weekend's match in Mbombela and they may emerge from that not having ticked all the boxes. They are however clear signs they are building something much bigger.
South Africa (24) 45 - Tries – Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5).